Jack Haley proves he's a good comedic lead in this "old dark house" movie. Lugosi, unfortunately, has a small role but he makes the most of it with a running joke throughout the movie.

THE TIN MAN AND BELA LUGOSI
(Who could ask for more ?)

An eccentric millionaire's unread will, and a mansion full of contentious heirs. What better time for a life insurance salesman to show up, especially if he's played by Jack "Tin Man" Haley. Toss in a wandering corpse and butler Bela Lugosi constantly trying to serve everybody rat-poison-laced coffee, and you have the fixins for a comic who-done-it in the old dark house mold. All we need is a thunderstorm. Aha! There it is now! Jean Parker is the damsel in peril. The ubiquitous Lyle Talbot is on hand in a supporting role. This one is fun. CAST NOTE: Either as a leading man or character actor, Lyle Talbot appeared in more than 400 productions, including "Plan 9 From Outer Space." Needless to say he shows up aplenty here at the Archive.

Not great, but good comedy/mystery movie. Light, fluffy fun. Bela Lugosi's role is too small. Jack Haley is funny.

Is it just me, or did the last few seconds suggest Jack's character was banging the woman?

A fun comedy mystery. I like Bela Lugosi movies. They tend to be strange in an entertaining way.

I downloaded the 512Kb MPEG4 version and it is fine.

The premise now, is over done, but then it would have been still relatively new and fresh. The spooky house, the eccentric will of the dead man, and the screwy characters. The comic relief of Jack Haley is not out of place in the context of the plot. Bela again plays the role he was born for: cheerful yet sinister, and we are unsure if he is good or bad or both.

Who the bad guy is doesn't seem to matter so much, it's the process of the bumbling life insurance agent and his love interest in their attempts to find the perpetrator that really makes the film.

My only complaint is that Bela didn't have a bigger role. He plays the butler who is trying to serve coffee that no one wants. It is alluded to that he is trying to poison everyone but this is not for certain. Near the beginning he is seen with rat poison and says to his wife, "There are too many rats in this house." and puts the poison in his pocket.

A very enjoyable film, worth watching a couple times in a normal lifespan of a human.

This movie is better than a 2 star. I have it on VHS tape somewhere.

This is a silly 'old house' mystery starring Jack Haley and Bela Lugosi.

I downloaded the MPEG-1 file. Video and audio are OK.